Stuart Broad surpasses legendary bowler

By Chaitanya Laxman

Image credit @ Getty

Stuart Broad may have failed to perform to his potential in the ongoing Test series between England and India but he continues to take giant strides forward in the list of most Test wickets and has now surpassed the legendary fast bowler Sir Richard Hadlee.

Broad achieved this feat during the second day of the 5th Test at the Oval. Broad dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in India’s first innings to claim his 432nd Test wicket. This wicket meant he has now surpassed the New Zealand pacer Hadlee who has 431 Test wickets.

Sir Richard Hadlee held the record for taking the most wickets in Tests at one time and is regarded as one of the finest fast bowlers in the history of the game. Featuring in 86 Tests, the Kiwi bowler bowled in 150 innings and claimed 431 wickets. His average of 22.29 and strike rate of 50.8 speak volumes about his accuracy and consistency.

Broad made his debut in 2007 and since then has tagged with James Anderson to become one of the most menacing pace bowling combinations of this era. Broad achieved the milestone of 432 wickets in his 123rd Test. The England bowler averages 28.83 and picks a wicket every 58.1 balls.

Image credits @ Getty

In the list of most Test wickets, Broad now stands at number eight and is only two wickets behind Indian legend Kapil Dev. In the list of pacers, only Glenn McGrath (563), James Anderson (561), C Walsh (519) and Kapil Dev (434) are ahead of Broad.

With one more innings to go, Broad has a realistic chance of going past Kapil as well.

After dismissing Dhawan, Broad failed to pick any more wickets on day two but other England bowlers bowled emphatically and have restricted India to 174 for six wickets at stumps on day two after Jos Butler’s brilliant 89 runs rescued England and allowed the hosts to post 332 runs in the first innings.